The Northern Command is upgrading its security measures, including strengthening the border fence and stationing cameras, radars and barriers

Date: 27/01/2013, 1:43 PM Author: Matan Galin

The IDF (Zahal)’s senior leadership is taking serious account of the changes occurring along the Israeli-Syrian border in the Golan Heights, and the General Staff has decided to prepare for every eventuality. Specifically, the IDF (Zahal) leadership has decided to strengthen the border fence while upgrading intelligence-gathering capabilities in the area. In recent weeks, soldiers of the Gaash Formation, which defends the area, have worked extensively on this project so as to enhance the area’s general security.

“All these elements are prepared for developments on the Syrian border and as preparation for the ‘day after’. We are preventing the possibility of future terror activity,” Gaash Formation Engineering Officer Lt. Col. Shai Unger, who is responsible for the project, explained.

“This project contains within it a significant procedure for strengthening intelligence gathering, by stationing radars and state-of-the-art cameras throughout the Golan Heights sector. Additionally, a barrier has been placed along the line of the fence which will provide added security to the surrounding communities,” Lt. Col. Unger explained.

Work on the fence, which began a month ago, is now at an advanced stage. The fence is five meters in height and is surrounded by tall wire fencing and trenches. So far, forces have constructed tens of kilometers of the fence, up to the southern areas of the Golan Heights located near the border.

The building of the fence is being carried out in a similar fashion to that of the Hourglass Project on the Egyptian border, which has proved its effectiveness recently in preventing illegal border crossings.

“In the beginning, we chose to invest our efforts in the areas close to civilian communities, but I believe in the future we will equip the entire Golan Heights with the same kind of barrier,” Lt. Col. Unger explained.

The area is also being reinforced with an increase in the number of forces stationed on the border. Whereas in the past the area was guarded by reservists, those forces have recently been replaced by soldiers from the Golani Reconnaissance Battalion, who carry out activity in the sector and provide security for the building of the fence.

Additional forces taking part in the activity include field intelligence forces that gather quality intelligence on developments on the other side of the border, Barak Battalion forces of the Golani Brigade stationed on Mount Hermon, and combat engineering forces of the Mechanical Engineering Team that are assisting in the construction of the fence.